Which of our funds are in the money flow?

Each month we like to make sure that the funds we own are acting right. In our opinion, as well as long-term performance being a key factor in fund selection, the short-term performance of a fund is very important once you own it. It’s vital because we’ve noticed that strong funds tend to get stronger and weak funds tend to get weaker.

That means we simply hold onto funds that continue to outperform and exit the ones that underperform. On September 26th2014, we took a good look at the returns of our five funds, the returns of the FTSE 100 and returns of the NASDAQ Composite. This is what we discovered:

This information is taken from The Big Picture, to download a sample copy please just click here.

The laggard: Fund D

When this data was collected 26th September 2014, the laggard in our portfolio was Fund D. It had outperformed our benchmarks over the last three months but had unfortunately underperformed over the last week and month. Next we took a look at their performance of the five funds since their purchase dates and we compared those returns with the FTSE 100, our UK benchmark.

The data showed that even though Fund D was the laggard, it was easily beating the FTSE 100 since we bought it on the 8th of July this year. This further helped to confirm our intentions to hold this fund but continue to closely monitor it going forward.

Our outlook for 2014 and beyond

Year to date we are sitting in a gain of 1.3% versus the FTSE 100’s loss of 1.6%*. After making a 23.1% return in 2013 versus the FTSE 100’s 14.4%, outperforming the Footsie one hundred so far this year by 2.9% is extremely encouraging.

We are still of the belief that it will probably take a little more time for these recent changes to make any real impact to our returns and we still expect to see things pick up in the last quarter of this year. If gains are to be made in 2014, we think they will probably be single digit. Beyond this year, we expect solid performance from the equity markets and this means that if you are a long-term investor like us, and have the courage to stay in the game, the future is looking bright.

* Performance data collected September 26th 2014.

Exceeding performance expectations

Our aim is to outperform the FTSE 100 and we are proud of our 23.1% 2013 return which some would say is impressive and even more so when compared to the FTSE 100’s 2013 return of 14.4%. As you can see on this bar chart, we’ve also delivered solid returns over the last 5 years** and managed to make an average annual gain of 14.5% versus the FTSE’s 8.8%.

** 31st December 2008 - 31st December 2013. ISACO investment performance verified by Independent Executives Ltd.

Long-term performance

If we go back even further, since beginning investing back in 1997, we’ve outperformed the FTSE 100 by 60.2% which means we’ve beaten the main UK stock index on average by 2.4% per year***.

*** 31st December 1997 - 31st December 2013. ISACO investment performance verified by Independent Executives Ltd.

This information is taken from The Big Picture, to download a sample copy please just click here.

As always, if you have any questions or thoughts on the points covered in this post, please leave a comment below or connect with us @ISACO_ on Twitter.

About ISACO

ISACO specialises in ISA and SIPP Investment and is the pioneer of ‘Shadow Investment’; an easy way to grow your ISA and SIPP at low cost. Together with our clients, we have an estimated £57 million actively invested in ISAs and pensions****. Clients like us because we have a great track record of ‘beating’ the FTSE 100*****. Over the last 16 years, we’ve outperformed the Footsie by 60.2% and over the last 5 years, we’ve averaged 14.5% each year versus the FTSE 100’s 8.8%. You can find us at www.ISACO.co.uk.

What is Shadow Investment?

Picking the right fund for your ISA and SIPP is not exactly the easiest job in the world. And knowing 'when' to buy and 'when' to exit is even more difficult! Our ‘Shadow Investment’ Service is here to help. Our service allows you to look over our shoulder and buy the same funds that we are buying.

When we are thinking of buying a fund, we alert you so that you have the opportunity to buy it on the same day that we buy it. We also tell you about when we are planning to exit the fund. You control your investment account, not us. You can start small and invest as little or as much money as you like.

By knowing what we are buying, when we are buying and when we are exiting, throughout the year you can mirror our movements and in effect replicate our trades. This means you have the opportunity to benefit from exactly the same investment returns that we get. Our investment aims are 10–12% per year.

We are totally independent, fully transparent and FCA compliant. We’re warm, friendly and highly responsive and it’s a very personal service that gives you direct access to the Sutherland brothers; ISACO’s two founders.

Who are ISACO’s clients?

Clients who benefit most from our service have over £250,000 actively invested and the majority of them are wealthy retirees, business owners, self-employed professionals and corporate executives. We also have clients from the financial services sector, such as IFAs and wealth managers.

Do you have questions?

To have all your questions answered, call 0800 170 7750 or email us at: info@ISACO.co.uk.

* Performance data collected September 26th 2014.
** 5 year performance: 31st December 2008 - 31st December 2013. ISACO investment performance verified by Independent Executives Ltd.
*** Long-term performance: 31st December 1997 - 31st December 2013 ISACO 91.3%, FTSE 100 31.1%. ISACO investment performance verified by Independent Executives Ltd.
**** 15th November 2012: Internal estimation of total ISA and pension assets owned by ISACO Investment Team and ISACO premium clients.
***** 5 year performance: 31st December 2008 - 31st December 2013. Long-term performance: 31st December 1997 - 31st December 2013 ISACO 91.3%, FTSE 100 31.1%. ISACO investment performance verified by Independent Executives Ltd.